Cadwalader team brings Paul Hastings' emerging City arm blinking into the light

For a firm whose London office few can describe without the words "steady" or "unspectacular" emerging, the recent addition of a seven-partner team from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has caused some to reappraise just what Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker is up to in the City.

After all, the UK life of Paul Hastings can be broadly split into two eras – the first from its London launch in 1997 until 2004, with a second more active period since then. The pre-2004 years could be charitably described as uneventful, as one current partner concedes there was "just no ambition for growth".

The one event during the quiet years that suggested any ambition was the arrival of real estate finance specialist Mark Eagan (pictured), who brought with him a decent roster of institutional clients – among them Apollo, JPMorgan and Citi. The Los Angeles-based firm was to begin expanding slowly from this base. The practice now boasts 65 lawyers, including 22 partners, and has an offering verging on full service.

Corporate partner Ronan O'Sullivan, tax lawyer Justin Hamer, employment lawyer Chris Walter and real estate partner Emma Bucknall in particular are cited as names to watch for the future. Finance partner Keith Wilson – who joined from Lovells – has garnered plaudits for his practice, and the addition of projects partner John Simpson and more recently David Manny has given the team more weight in the Central and Eastern European region.

By consensus, the post-2004 mood has been driven by young, energetic partners who view the practice more like a growing boutique rather than seeking to leverage off a global platform of a US firm that generated revenues of $975m (£672m) in 2007. During the same year, London saw a 38% increase in fees.

All very laudable, but the fact remains that the firm has yet to translate a quality US franchise into big-name UK recruits.

Eagan concedes the firm initially underestimated the challenge of the City and reckons that an early push into Asia made Paul Hastings focus late on Europe. Critics also claim that the hands-on US management, in particular the firm's powerful chairman Seth Zachary, has stifled progress in the Square Mile.

However, now the firm can point to a series of promising developments, including the relocation of global head of real estate Phil Feder to London (a big deal for one of America's top property advisers), the recent merger with 27-lawyer Frankfurt boutique Smeets Haas Wolff. Oh, and of course, that Cadwalader team.

Given the effort it has taken to get the firm this far, much is riding on the Cads team. And given the fairly disparate practice spread of the seven partners, there will be concerns at how coherent theircontribution will be to their new employer. However, the team will be bringing in more capability in litigation and capital markets.

More important will be the inroads the team should provide in restructuring, an area in which Paul Hastings last year made the eye-catching hire of US restructuring heavyweight Luc Despins. Clients that the Cadwalader team is expected to open doors for include the likes of Calyon and Credit Suisse.

It will be interesting to see what Paul Hastings chooses to do with its moment in the limelight, particularly as it has reportedly been inundated with CVs since the Cadwalader move from those who see it as both a safe harbour and one of the few shops in town still hiring. With plunging sterling giving it partner profits in the magic circle ball-park, there will be opportunities if Paul Hastings has the stomach to take them.

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